Edges of the Mind
by jmi
Summary: Now Complete! The pilots are faced with death at the hands one of their own. WARNING: Language, Major character death, Violence. Would love some R&R's
1. Chapter 1

**Edges of the Mind **by jmi

Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** Gundam Wing characters are owned by Sotsu/Sunrise.

Relena sighed as she lay back on her large bed. She was exhausted, but it was a happy exhaustion. It was the first time in weeks she'd been able to sneak away from her duties as Vice Foreign Minister and relax with her family and friends. She smiled as she thought about what an eclectic group they were. Her brother Milliardo (or Zechs as he still preferred to be called) and his wife Lucrezia (who everyone still called Noin though that hadn't been her name for over a year), Duo Maxwell and his friend/girlfriend Hilde Schbeiker, Trowa Barton and his sister Catherine Bloom, Quatre Raberba Winner and his now constant assistant/companion Dorothy Catalonia (that relationship puzzled her on several levels), and finally Wufei Chang and Sally Po (another puzzler....how she suffered to stay in Wufei's ranting distance was beyond Relena). She sighed again her mind unwittingly drifted onto the only presence missing from their group. 'No,' she chided herself. 'You must not dwell on things that cannot be changed.' The man she'd known and loved was gone. Lost these three years to the voracious appetites of his own mental demons.

She sat up when she heard a car tear into the driveway in front of the Peacecraft's mountain retreat. 'It must be Duo, Hilde, and Sally coming back,' she thought as she got up and put a robe on. Sally had asked Duo to drive her back to the Preventer's medical facility earlier to take care of a few things that needed her immediate attention. Hilde had tagged along for the ride. She wasn't really alarmed when she heard the front door burst open, but when the door of her own room flung wide she became frightened. Duo's eyes were glazed and his skin had a pale clammy appearance.

"Lena get dressed now we have to get out of here!" he yelled as he quickly ran to the window.

"Wha... what's the matter Duo?" she stuttered mystified by his fearful expression.

"Don't ask questions! Just do as I say!" he left her room and started pounding on the adjacent bedrooms doors of the other Gundam pilots.

'What could frighten Duo so much,' she wondered as she quickly pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt. She heard a sharp cry come from the room across the hall where Wufei had been sleeping. She ran to the door to see Duo exiting looking very solemn.

"Duo?" she pulled at his arm.

"We need to leave here immediately," his violet gaze hardened. "None of us are safe."

"Duo, I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's happened? Where are Hilde and Sally?"

"They're dead all right! Will you get dressed now!?" his gaze was hard and unforgiving.

"What? How?" Relena felt herself fall back on the door frame for support.

"When we got to the hospital, everything seemed fine," Duo shook his head. "But when we went inside..." tears began to choke off his words. "_**HE**_ was waiting for us. He dropped me from behind with some kind of nerve block. I couldn't move anything. He got Sally next. She tried to fight him, but..." his voice faded off again. "And Hilde..." she saw the tears forming again, "the damn bastard tortured her in front of me and I couldn't do a thing to stop him."

"Oh Duo," Relena wanted to reach out and comfort him but his features immediately hardened again.

"We have to leave now! This location isn't safe."

By this time, the others were in the hall. Wufei finally joined them. His face was it's normal calm, but Relena could tell he'd been crying. "Ok everyone," Duo looked at the group, "this is a situation Omega, we're evac'ing ASAP." Trowa, Quatre, and Dorothy nodded their acknowledgment. They immediately collected the confused Catherine and headed for their rooms. Wufei stood stoically as he simply unsheathed his katana and headed for the stairs.

Relena started to call after him when Duo grabbed her shoulders. "Let him be," he said quietly. "Come on we're leaving."

"No wait Duo! My brother and Noin... they're sleeping in the other wing. We can't leave them!" she pulled away and ran down the corridor with Duo in close pursuit. 

"LENA!" he screamed after her.

She didn't stop until she crashed into the door of her brother's room. "Zechs," she cried out of breath and opened the door. No sounds would come from her throat as she tried to comprehended the scene that greeted her. Zech's body was laying on top of Noin's, his long platinum hair thankfully hid their faces. The wooden pole and flag ,which Relena recognized as being from on top of the house, were impaled through her brother's back, through his wife, and into the mattress. She was too shell shocked to realize that Duo had grabbed her waist and was dragging back down the hall when she finally started to scream.

Her scream had brought the others back into the hall. They were preparing to go when the retreat's security systems armed. Thick metal shutters clamped over the windows, external doors slammed and bolted, and all vents sealed over.

"Oh shit," Duo pulled Relena towards the stairs, but stopped when he saw the front door was still wide open. They eyed the only escape route for a moment. The pilots smelled the obvious trap, when a shadow fell across the floor. Relena felt Duo pull her protectively behind him, but she held her ground enough to see the figure as it entered their line of sight.

"Releeeenaaaaaaaaa." The voice that had once made her weak with desire, was now twisted with a maniacal sounding happiness. She shuddered when she saw the same twisted glee was emanating from the previously cold blue eyes. Though the words were almost turned into a song by that glee, the weight of their meaning was a menacing as ever.

"Omae o Korosu," Heero grinned at the assembly on the stairs. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Edges of the Mind **by jmi

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** Gundam Wing characters are owned by Sotsu/Sunrise.

"You will die!"

Wufei's scream shattered the silence that followed Heero's appearance. His efforts to dive on their former comrade were hampered by the restraining arms of Quatre and Trowa. The struggle brought a bemused smirk to Heero's face as he brought a familiar cylindrical object from behind his back and held it in front of him.

"Oh my god," Dorothy instinctively backed up towards the wall, "he's got a detonator!"

"Move!" Duo grabbed Relena and headed for the other end of the hall. The rest of the group quickly followed when the explosion rocked the house.

"That.. that wasn't inside.." Quatre pushed himself off the floor.

"I think that was the hanger and garages," Trowa said, gun in hand, as he watched the staircase for any movement.

"Stay here," Duo threw Relena at Trowa and ran back to the stairs. The front door was now closed. Their visitor, no where in sight. "Damn it," Duo cursed under his breath as the power began to fail. "We need to get some cover," he muttered as he rejoined the others. "Let's go to Lena's room. It's the most secure."

Trowa kept watch at the door as the others tried to make sense of their situation.

"What is going on?" Dorothy glared at Duo through the dim emergency lighting. "I thought Heero Yuy was incarcerated."

"He was, until tonight," Duo frowned as held the shaking Relena.

"I don\'92t understand this," Catherine looked at them . "I knew something had happened to Heero a few years ago, but Trowa would never discuss the details."

Quatre sighed as he hooked a battery pack to his laptop and recalled the painful events for her. "It happened after the Mariemaia incident. Heero tried making some modifications to the Zero System in his suit. We assumed he was trying to increase the output of the Wing Zero, but something went wrong. The system fed back on him, driving him insane. The four of us and Zechs had to practically destroy his Gundam to stop him. Since that day he's been held at the Preventers Medical Facility. With what little Duo told us, it appears he somehow managed to escape, and killed Sally and Hilde in the process. Now, he's in this house."

"My god...I had no idea," Catherine shuddered as the changes she'd noticed in her brother and friends these last few years made much more sense.

"So what's his plan?"

"What do you mean Trowa?" Quatre glanced up from the screen.

"Heero may be insane, but he still has all the programming and training he used as a Gundam pilot. He wouldn't come here if he didn't have every step of his attack planned. That's probably why he killed Zechs first. He must have considered him to be a primary threat to completing his mission." A choked sob escaped Relena's throat as she huddled closer to Duo.

"But what IS his mission?" Dorothy asked.

Trowa cast an almost sad gaze in Relena's direction. "We have no way of determining that at present, but it seems to involve you Relena."

"Well I don't think we can get out of here," Quatre groaned. "The security system is completely locked, and it isn't responding to any requests to shut down.

"Of course it isn't," Duo hissed. "He designed the damn thing. He's probably leaning over a terminal somewhere laughing his ass off at us."

So gentlemen," Dorothy eyed the pilots, "what are we going to do?"

"We're going to kill him." They turned in shock as Wufei emerged from the adjacent room still gripping his katana. The longer hair he'd grown since the end of the war was gone. Replaced once again by the short tight ponytail he wore in his youth as a sign of mourning. "He's a rabid animal that must be put out of his misery."

"Wufei, no! We have to try to help him," Quatre protested.

"That was your position three years ago, Winner," he snarled as he pulled a small blue box from his pocket and threw it at Quatre. "Now because we were too weak to do what should have been done, our loved ones are dead." His expression darkened further as he stalked towards the door. "I will have justice..... for her."

Quatre bit back his tears as he stared at the small diamond ring in the box. "Wait, Wufei. If this is what we have to do, we can't just wander out blindly. We'll need some sort of plan.

"What do you have in mind Quatre?" Dorothy looked over his shoulder at the plans of the house he was bring up.

"We'll move in teams. We sweep the house, starting from this wing and working our way back until we find him, then...." his voice trailed off.

"You guys pair up, I'll stay here and keep watch over Catherine and Relena," Duo nodded.

"No."

"Huh? Whatta ya mean no, Lena?" Duo looked in disbelief as she straightened herself and wiped her tears.

"I'm going out with you to search. I'm not completely incapable of defending myself. And I think this is something Heero would have wanted me to do for him."

"Well I'm certainly not going to wait around here for him to come after me," Catherine stood up and produced a pair of knives from her boots. Trowa started to protest. But he recognized the resolved look in his sister's eyes, and remained quiet.

"It may be safer this way Duo," Quatre suggested. "After all, a moving target is harder to hit." He thought Duo was going to object anyway, but a short stare down with Relena seemed to change his mind.

"All right then," he shrugged and pulled out his gun. "Lena, Wufei, and I will start working our way east on the lower floor. Trowa, Catherine, Quatre, and Dorothy you work your way along this floor." A strange glint passed through his violet eyes that disturbed Quatre. "And to make sure everyone is clear on this... Yuy is to be shot on sight."


	3. Chapter 3

**Edges of the Mind **by jmi

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** Gundam Wing characters are owned by Sotsu/Sunrise.

Quatre and Dorothy moved quietly along one side of the hall. Quatre stopped her when he saw Trowa motion that he and Catherine were going to inspect another room.

"I feel ridiculous with this gun," Dorothy whispered. "I would feel much more comfortable with my rapier.

"Just be glad we had enough guns to go around," Quatre murmured quietly. "Heero knows how good you are with a sword. He wouldn't bother fencing with you."

They resumed their silence when Trowa and Catherine emerged from the room. The slight shake of his head told them to move on. The next rooms were theirs. Standing on either side, Dorothy turned the knob and let the door fall open. They swung in unison, their guns training across the entire room. "He's not here," Dorothy shrugged as she walked on in.

"Dorothy! Be careful, we haven't checked everywhere," Quatre quietly urged her.

"All right," she sighed. "Check in here and I'll check my suite." She smiled and carefully went through the connecting doors. Quatre sighed and began to somberly check his suite. 'This house has so many places he could hide,' he shrugged in his mind. 'If only one of us had known what you were doing then Heero.' He yelped as a dark figure fell at him from behind the door he moved. He chuckled nervously as he gave the errant coat tree a kick. Dorothy would laugh if she'd seen him so panicked. 

A few more tense minutes of thoroughly searching the closets, bathroom, and bedroom left Quatre feeling relatively certain that Heero was not there. He gasped at the sudden, painful tightness in his chest, as his eyes were immediately pulled to the connecting doors to Dorothy's rooms. 'Oh no,' dozens of horrifying thoughts began to fill his mind as he burst in the doors. In the dim glow he saw Dorothy sitting at her vanity. 

"Dorothy," he called to her as he crossed the room and put his hand on her shoulder. Her limp head rolled back onto his hand. The pain in his chest increased exponentially as he gasped at the rag shoved in her mouth. The glint of metal in her lap caught his tearing eyes. He wanted to scream at the sword that was pinning her body to the chair, but his voice refused to work. His hand trembled as he reached up to close her glazed eyes. He noticed then, as a final humiliating assault to Dorothy, that the forks of her eyebrows had been clipped off.

"Oh Dorothy..." his returning voice small and weak, "it's so unfair." His knees buckled as the thought of the waste. After two years he had finally succeeded in bringing out the kind woman he knew had always been deep inside of her. Now that kind heart was gone before it had a chance to live. His soft sobs concealed the softer sounds of someone approaching him. Quatre didn't realize he was there until the strong arms wrapped around him from behind. One clasping his chest, the other covering his mouth.

"You know Quatre, you've always had too much heart to be an efficient soldier." Heero's voice had a strange soothing quality to it as he rocked Quatre back and forth as you would a child. "Let me help you with it."

The bright flash of pain lasted only a few seconds. As Quatre felt his eyes dim he looked up one last time and saw Dorothy smiling, holding out her hand for him.

Trowa stared pensively at the door, then at his watch. Ten minutes. Too much time has gone by. "Cathy, something's wrong."

His words took Catherine by surprise but she checked her gun and followed him. She carefully ran her hand across the knives concealed in her pocket. Not as widely destructive as the weapon in her hand, but they had kept her safe on numerous trips outside of the safety of her circus surroundings. They entered Quatre\'92s room. Trowa quickly surveyed the dimly lit area and proceeded to the double doors that led to Dorothy's room. Catherine paused to allow her eyes to adjust to the dimness. She had never before heard the pained cry that came from her brother's throat as he ran into the adjoining room. Catherine stopped at the door. She could barely make out Dorothy's blonde hair draped over the back of a chair, and Quatre's still form knelt beside her.

"Trowa?" she could not see him.

"Stay out Cathy," his words so short and insistent she winced as if she'd been struck.

"Trowa? Are they?" She didn't have to ask, she already knew in her heart.

"He was the best of us," Trowa's voice drifted in the darkness. "Despite everything he never lost his innocence, his hope...."

Catherine cried when she saw the starkly blank expression in her Trowa's visible green eye. "I want you to go find Duo and the others, and stay with them."

"Trowa please come with me," she pleaded, afraid more for him than for herself.

"He's here Cathy, and I will find him," he kissed her forehead and went back to the darkness.

Catherine ran down the hall weeping. She had hoped she would never see the emotionless mask that covered her brother's face again. But this.... the death of his best friend would be something he may never recover from. She staggered to a stop a the top of the stairs, the weight of that thought was unbearable. "Oh Trowa...." Her tears attracting the attention of sparkling blue eyes. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Edges of the Mind **by jmi

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** Gundam Wing characters are owned by Sotsu/Sunrise.

He stopped and watched his fellow pilot and the former Princess continue down the hall. Something was VERY wrong, he could feel it. He never discussed it with the others but, like Quatre, he could feel things; though not nearly as acute as the Arab boy. He'd ignored the dark shadows that had filled his mind in the last half hour. He attempted to write them off as the shock of again losing a woman he loved. But.... this was more than grief for Sally. Something was not right with the others.

"Duo," he called out.

The braided pilot finally realized his companion had stopped following them, and stood several yards back down the corridor. He noticed the stiffness in Wufei's stance, as if he were expecting the shadows themselves to attack. "Wu? What's up?"

"I'm going to back track towards the front of the house."

"No Wufei! Don't go!" Relena cried. She wasn't sure why. She and the Chinese pilot had never been close and spoke rarely beyond the pleasantries of acquaintances, but after seeing the emptiness in his black eyes she feared for his life.

A strange calm look had filled his face when he turned back to them, "Please remember Princess, 'though justice be thy plea, consider this, that in the course of justice none of us should see salvation' [1]." He turned, katana in hand, and headed back down the hall.

"Duo we can't let him go by himself," Relena gripped his arm tightly.

"Wufei's big enough to take care of himself,' Duo shrugged and headed in the opposite direction. "Besides, he wouldn't appreciate us tagging along while he's on a mission for justice. It's something he prefers to do alone. Come on." He put his arm around her as they continued their search.

Moving quickly and silently, Wufei made his way back to the main entrance in no time. The uneasy feeling in the back of his mind was stronger now. He'd felt it when he was coming down the hall. Quatre was gone. He knew it. This thing that had been their friend was just as lethal and efficient as ever. He moved under the shadow of the staircase balcony when he felt something hit his head. He ran a slender hand over his hair and gasped when he saw his fingers returned crimson. He backed out from under the balcony and cursed at the sight that greeted him. Catherine Bloom was hanging over the edge of the railing. Her outstretched arms tied with cords and pierced at the wrists by her own knives.

"What devil..." Wufei mumbled. "You deserved better than this," he whispered a prayer to Nataku to watch over the strong spirit of the circus performer.

"She died because she was a weak onna. Isn't that right Wufei?"

The cold voice calling to him from the darkness of the landing immediately filled Wufei with rage. "Come down and face ME coward. Or can your skills only claim the unaware and the weak, soft hearts?" He was surprised to see Heero emerge holding a sword of his own.

"I think my skills will surprise you Chang Wufei," he glared and abruptly leaped over the railing landing gracefully in front of Wufei. His stance immediately straightened and he held the sword in a position ready to fight.

"Humph," Wufei huffed and readied his own sword. The two circled each other tensely. Any assumptions or observations Wufei had made on Heero's abilities over the years could not be counted on. His mental state made him too unpredictable. Suddenly Heero charged. Wufei dodged the first swipe and blocked the second. As Heero charged again Wufei twirled to the side; a move he made sure to master after his first duel with Treize Khushrenada. His own counterattack sliced Heero on the arm.

"Hn," Heero actually grinned as he inspected the blood flowing down his arm. "You've improved Wufei. I'll admit, you're better than me at this."

"Then it's time to end it. Time for you to receive the justice you've earned," Wufei raised his katana for another attack.

"I said you were better than me with the sword Wufei," Heero's grin widened. "I didn't say you were going to win." Heero seemed to produce the gun from thin air, and before Wufei could react he felt it's burning kiss tear through his left shoulder. The floor greet him violently and an uncomfortable weight settle on his chest. His vision recovered enough to seen the Cheshire grin of Heero sitting on his chest holding his katana. He spat Mandarin curses with his remaining strength. Heero simply laughed. "Oh come now Wufei, you'd be surprised at the things I know about honor, even though I never had much use for the stuff." He smiled again as he raised the sword over his head.

Trowa was angry and frustrated. He'd searched the entire western wing and turned up no signs of Heero. He returned down the same hall that he had walked earlier. He paused at the door of Dorothy's room. His mask of indifference slipped along with a tear as he glanced at the simple white sheet that he had used to cover Quatre's and Dorothy's bodies. "You were the best part of all of us my friend. How will we go on without you?" He closed the door and continued towards the stairs. He stopped when he saw several of the emergency lights had been broken, and the upper half of the stairs and landing were completely dark. He readied his gun and moved towards the shadows. As his eyes adjusted he saw the stairs were empty. A dim presence of red hair caught his eye over the railing. For the second time that night, Trowa's heart shattered. He calmly walked over and leaned between the spindles to look at Catherine's still face. "Et tu, Catherine? I wonder if it truly is Duo who is cursed by Shinigami. Now all of my loved ones are dead." A soft moan below him drew his tearing eyes from his sister. In the faint light he could see Wufei sprawled on the floor. Hoping for a chance to save someone from this madness Trowa flew over the balcony rail to the floor. His hopes were crushed quickly when he realized the amount of blood Wufei was lying in. The cuts to his forearms and legs were surgically precise; severing the tendons and rendering his limbs useless.

"I'm sorry Wufei, there's nothing I can do," Trowa knelt over his fellow pilot.

"I'm glad you're here... Trowa," Wufei's voice wavered in tone and strength. "Heero wanted to deny me an honorable death in battle.... left me to... bleed to death. Help me Trowa...."

The visible green eye widened in horror at the request.

"Please... Trowa... let me go to Merian and Sally.... with honor."

Trowa nodded and picked up the discarded katana. With his unnerving grace he spun the blade and shoved it through Wufei's heart. The accompanying escape of breath followed the spirit of the pilot as his body stiffened then relaxed.

"I cannot promise that I will follow your path of justice Wufei, but you will all be avenged," Trowa promised quietly. 

[1] The Merchant of Venice, act IV, sc. i, l. 184 


	5. Chapter 5

**Edges of the Mind **by jmi

Chapter 5

**Disclaimer** Gundam Wing characters are owned by Sotsu/Sunrise.

Duo turned his face from Relena and grimaced. He knew her ears would never have picked up the faint echo of the gunshot. 

"Duo what's the matter?"

He turned to her distressed blue eyes and, for possibly the first time in his life, Duo lied. "Nothing's wrong. Don't worry Lena this will all be over soon."

"Will it Duo?" 

She was so easy to read sometimes. He could easily see the pain and conflicting feelings playing over her face. She still loved Heero, despite three years of not being able to be near him, despite all of the night's events; and it was destroying her.

"I promise Lena."

She tried to smile, but it didn't remove the sadness in her eyes. Eyes that suddenly went wide when she heard a sound coming from behind the doors of the ballroom. She looked at Duo. 'Yes he hears it too,' she gazed at the elaborately decorated wood. 'Is it singing?' Duo glared and pushed her behind him as he positioned himself beside the door. He moved his gun to his left hand as he reached for the door's golden handle. Relena fingered the weapon in her own hands. 'Why did they give me this,' she frowned. 'I don't think I could bring myself to shoot anyone.... especially Heero.

Duo didn't seem to share any of her doubts as he let the door fall open. The voice continued to echo from the stage.

_~Nureta sono kata wo~_

_~atatameruyou ni daita~_

_~Furueteru yubisaki wa~_

_~nani wo motomete samayuno~_

Relena could feel Duo's body stiffen. "It's him isn't it?" she whispered.

"Do you know anyone else here that sings that badly in Japanese?"

Relena frowned unable to determine if Duo was trying to be funny or was mocking her. He checked his gun and swung into the room. Relena shuddered and fought back her tears as she heard the rounds being fired.

"Heero! Damn it! You're just making this harder than it has to be," she heard Duo yell. She moved in the door in time to see Duo discard his jammed gun and pull a knife from his boot. Heero was standing on the stage grinning like the devil himself. The only apparent injury he had was from a cut on his left arm. He noticed her in the doorway and gave her a wink before jumping off the stage. Duo charged his former friend and the two fell fighting into the pitch black half of the room. Relena could only stand frozen as the sounds of the struggle echoed back to her. Finally the sickening sounds of ripping fabric and an explosive rush of breath came to her; followed closely by the thud of a body hitting the ground. She felt her knees weakening as she watched the darkness. A bloody knife emerged and was cast at her feet. She started to scream but it was stifled instantly as she noticed the sparkling blue eyes watching her from the edge of the shadows.

"Releeennnaaaaaaaaa."

She fell back on the door frame and, remembering the gun in her hand, threw it up as a shield.

"My, my this IS a reversal of roles isn't it," Heero stalked towards her undeterred by the weapon. "Well if we're going to play this game I suppose I should ask for you to come and kill me," he stood right at the edge of the barrel. "But," with one swift move he shoved her gun out of the way and snaked an arm around her waist, "not until the dance is over." Humming a tune he twirled the terrified girl around the floor.


	6. Chapter 6

**Edges of the Mind **by jmi

Chapter 6

**Disclaimer** Gundam Wing characters are owned by Sotsu/Sunrise.

Relena's mind was spinning. This was what she had dreamed of for so long. Dancing with him, his arms holding her tight, the feel of his breath on her neck. No! This wasn't who she wanted. The man she'd loved was a cold, hard soldier; not this grinning, humming maniac that had killed her brother, her sister-in-law, her friends. She didn't know if she should cry or laugh at the situation. To finally get what she wanted from him, he had to loose everything that made her love him. 

You don't look happy Relena."

She noticed that he had stopped moving her around the floor, and was staring at her with those unnervingly emotional eyes.

"I.... I... don't feel... right about this," her voice refused to be calm.

"What? Isn't this what you want? Oooh maybe you had something a little more _physical_ in mind," the grin on his face took on a dark tone.

"H.. Hee.. Heero... I didn't think you...."

"Loved you? Oh now what would give you that idea," he twirled her away from him then seized her again from behind.

"Perhaps the fact that you've killed her remaining family and friends," a hard voice called from the door.

"Trowa," Heero growled over Relena's shoulder.

"Trowaaaa," Relena whimpered as Heero's grip around her tightened.

"I don't think you really want to use that gun Trowa. I mean after all," Heero pulled up the gun Relena previously held and pointed it into her side, "the human body does tend to convulse a lot when it's shot, and it would be a shame if I accidentally shot our sweet, sweet Relena."

Trowa's visible green eye glared harshly. Relena thought for a moment he may fire anyway. 'Please Trowa, kill us both and end this,' she wished quietly. When no shot came, she opened her eyes to see Trowa discard his gun and kick it into the shadows.

"I've seen too many of my loved ones and friends die today. I'll not make a move to add Relena to that list."

"Awwww Trowa," Heero frowned, "I really wanted to fight with you. Hmmmm...," his maniacal grin returned as he gave Relena a rough shove toward the stage, and threw his own gun into the darkness. "Come on Trowa, show me what you can do."

Trowa spun at the crazed pilot and landed a round house to his face. Heero rocked back to the ground and wiped the blood from his mouth. He rolled to the side to avoid another kick, and countered by swiping Trowa's supporting leg from under him. Trowa's natural grace allowed him to right himself almost immediately; rolling back into a hand spring. When he landed he was tackled by Heero and the pair continued to struggle as they rolled into the shadows. Relena could barely make them out as they moved in and out of the darkness. She gasped as she saw them half emerge into the light. Trowa had gained the upper hand; pinning Heero and getting a firm grip on his throat. She cried at the thought that this nightmare might finally be over. Her eyes widened when something shot out from the darkness and pulled Trowa back by the throat. Heero wiggled free from under the taller boy's weight. He scooted back a few feet and propped his head on his knees and watched the struggle with amused interest. Relena screamed in horror as she saw Trowa's body still and finally fall limp. His torso finally came back into view and she could see what had strangled the life from the Heavyarms pilot was a thick braid of hair. 

She could feel reality collapsing around her as a cold violet-eyed grin emerged from the blackness.

"Why what's wrong Lena? You look like you've seen a ghost."


	7. Finale

**Edges of the Mind **by jmi

Chapter 7 ~ The Finale

**Disclaimer** Gundam Wing characters are owned by Sotsu/Sunrise.

Her consciousness was returning slowly. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted it to. Was it some sick dream, the whole thing a delusion? Heero killing her family and friends? Duo back from death only to send Trowa in his place? 'Please, if there is a God, let me have just suffered a nervous breakdown,' Relena prayed.

She opened her eyes only to find, to her horror, she was greeted by the same glittering Prussian blue and violet eyes she had left.

"Well welcome back to the land of the living; for a while anyway," Duo grinned as he sat her up.

"D.. D.. Duo?" her shaking distorting her voice. "B.. but how.. you...."

"Died? Oh yeah, well that was just an Oscar winning performance on our parts," he slung an arm around Heero. "We wanted to make sure that whoever was left thought they had Heero all to themselves."

"But Duo why? All of your friends? Hilde?" she could not fathom the radical shift in the young man who had so vehemently guarded her life this evening.

"Yeah Hilde...." Was that sadness she glanced in his face? Maybe he wasn't gone after all.

"Hilde was an accident. Somebody got carried away at the hospital," he glared at his insane counterpart.

"She surprised me," Heero simply shrugged.

"Surprised you?" Duo shook his head in exasperation. As he did the maniacal grin reasserted itself. "Well what's done is done, and we still have more to do," his violet gaze fixed on her. Relena panicked at this. She had to keep them talking.

"Duo I don't understand. What's happened to you? You tried to kill Heero just a little while ago."

"Oh come on Lena, I already said that was an act. Geez I hate to repeat myself," he stood and hopped up so he was sitting on the edge of the stage.

"But.. why?" she tried to scoot further back against the wall. The amused glare she was getting from the seated Heero was causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.

Duo sighed. "You know Wu was right, women do talk too much. But, since you're gonna die anyway, you should die happy. You see Hee-chan wasn't the only one of us on the modified Zero System that day. I talked him into installing it on the Deathscythe Hell too.

If it was even possible Relena's eyes widened more. "But... the system drove Heero crazy. Why didn't it affect you?"

"Well who said it didn't beautiful?" he flashed his old lopsided grin. "But since I was never quite right to begin with, no one seemed to notice. Now Hee-chan on the other hand...."

"Hey I don't like being called Hee-chan," Heero pouted on the floor.

"Well damn it what do you want me to call you?" Duo glared.

"Shinigami," he beamed.

"Bastard, that's my name," Duo cursed. Heero stuck his tongue out and resumed staring at Relena.

"Duo, this doesn't explain why you've done this tonight."

"Humph. Well you all deserved what you got." Duo's knife reappeared in his hand as he gestured at Relena. "You locked Heero away. Never visited him. Never really tried to help him. You were gonna leave him in that padded room to rot!" Relena could see the anger overtaking Duo's emotions as he slid off the stage. "I wasn't about to let that happen to my buddy. I wanted Heero out, but I knew you and the others would never let us go. Some shit I'm sure about how we're a danger to ourselves and others," he waved his hand dismissively. "So I waited for an opportunity when I could have everyone in the same place and then," he drew his knife across his throat. "Now there's just you Lena. The only hurtle left," he grinned as he stalked towards her.

Relena felt the breath crush out of her as Heero crashed onto her lap. "No, mine!" he squeezed any remaining air from her lungs.

"Now Heero... we talked about this," Duo's tone like a parent trying to reason with a child. "If you don't want to go back to the padded room, we can't leave anyone behind."

"Don't care," he grunted as he absentmindedly stroked her hair.

"Enough of this shit," Duo grabbed for Relena, but found his arm caught in a crushing grip.

"I said _**mine**_," a low growl escaped Heero's throat.

"Sorry buddy this is for your own good," Duo landed a punch to Heero's jaw. Heero didn't release his grip on Duo and pulled the insane Deathscythe pilot down with him. A truer version of the previous fight ensued as both struggled between possession of the knife and who could inflict the most physical blows.

Relena backed away from the fight when something skidded across the floor from the shadows and struck her hand. She jumped in surprise when she realized it was one of the guns. "Where..." she looked for the source of the weapon but only saw the maniacs continuing to struggle on the floor.

A hard shove from Heero sent Duo crashing into the side of the stage. The jar brought one of the stage lights crashing down; lighting the room momentarily in sparks. Some of the sparks began smoldering in the stage's velvet curtain, and quickly set the old fabric ablaze. The fiery light set the shadows of the room dancing. Duo delivered a slicing blow to Heero's stomach as they fell towards the pulsing darkness. Heero growled ferally and shoved Duo back.

"It could've been fun, buddy," the deranged Shinigami turned the knife in his hand. "I always told you that girl would be the end of you." Heero laughed darkly when a shadow behind Duo jerked him by the braid and quickly wrapped the hair around his throat. The sudden motion caused Duo to lose the knife, which Heero quickly retrieved. He smiled calmly as he watched the flickering fire reveal the panic in Duo's eyes and the shock of hair and furious green eye of his assailant.

"All tonight's tragedies can be traced to you," Trowa whispered hoarsely in the boy's ear as his grip tightened. "The others are waiting in the next world for you, and you have much to answer for." Duo could feel himself fading, and actually smiled that after all these years, Shinigami was finally coming for him.

Heero found his attention waning and glanced at the bloody knife in his hand. Holding a hand over his own fatal wounds he turned to Relena. "Relenaaaaa..." the spreading fire highlighting the deadly intentions in his eyes. She processed suddenly his earlier claims of 'mine' were likely that she was his to kill.

"Heero don't make me do this," she shakingly held the gun in front of her.

"Ai Shiteru, Relena," he hissed and charged her, knife raised. She closed her eyes and winced when the explosion of the bullet leaving its chamber echoed in her ears. The bones in her legs melted as she opened her eyes. Heero was only a few feet from her; a spreading circle of red engulfing his shirt and the floor beneath him. An almost serene expression had replaced the snarl on his face. The gun fell away from her trembling hands as she collapsed. She barely noticed the strong arms that pulled her from the room as the fire spread across the ceiling.

The two broken souls sat on the lawn and watched somberly as the house became a funeral pyre for their loved ones.

"How did you survive Trowa?" Relena's gaze did not leave the burning structure.

"Heero wasn't the only one trained on how to control the body's autonomic functions," he stated simply.

"How could this have ever happened to them. We knew them Trowa. Heero and Duo weren't those deranged monsters we saw tonight," she leaned against the stoic young man sobbing.

"There are dark parts in all of us Relena. They conceal themselves at the edges of the mind and wait for an opportunity, one unguarded moment, when they can assert themselves. Heero's and Duo's demons found that opportunity. All we can do is try to remember our friends as they were." He found that he too was now leaning on her for support as the rising sun diminished the hellish glow before them.


End file.
